Today we've added the WF bookstore. The bookstore is a way to support WritingForums.org; all orders are through Amazon.com, and when you purchase within 24 hours of visiting the item through our store gateway, we earn a small 3-5% commission on most items. If you shop on Amazon anyway, adding the item to your cart through our gateway will help bring revenue to the site. Additionally, we'd like to highlight members of the community who have been published and have books available through Amazon. Books from approved members will be displayed in the store and potentially in other locations on the site. To qualify, you must have been a member for three months or have made 100 posts. If you meet the criteria and would like to be featured in a list of other published forum members, please send me a PM with a directly link to your book and any other relevant information. On another note, the forum software was updated today. This brings us to the latest version of Xenforo, and fixes bugs in the Gallery, Resource Section, other areas, and gives us a few improvements, notably in the FAQ section. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page has been updated to show a grid of questions on the homepage to more easily find your answer, as well as the ability to ask a question/suggest a new FAQ entry. You can now also ask a question, suggesting to add it to the FAQ, in the FAQ area.
This is great, love it! So if we are planning to buy a book, does it need to be advertised here for the forum to get credit, or do we just need to go from the forum to Amazon via any of the books' links? I ask because we could let you know we plan to buy a book, you could add it, then we buy it. Or does Amazon frown on that? And does this also apply to Kindle books?
Just a slight glitch. When I click on one of the books to learn more about it, the right-hand side of the text margin gets cut off. I have to actually go to the Amazon site itself in order to read about that particular book. Also, I second Thomas Kitchen's question. Are there plans to extend this to the UK site? Would be nice, as you have many UK and European members on the forum—and even if you do get Kindle books listed, we can't buy them from the US site. I like this development, though. Good resource AND source of forum revenue.
While I appreciate that the site needs funding, my signature on a few other forums includes the phrase "Boycott Amazon". I believe Barnes & Noble has a similar program...
Great idea, and even better that works by members might become available. On another note, can we suggest titles to be added?
daniel... since PMs don't seem to be doable any more, do you want us to contact you via the 'start a conversation' thing, or what?
It seems like we can access the entire catalog of books through WF Bookstore. Does that mean that any book we find will add to the site's revenue? EDIT: We can even choose browse video games, cameras and software... There seems to be a "Kindle Store" link in the panel to the left, so I suppose it should work.
I'm 99% sure that if you if you access Amazon through the store and buy something else, it works, but only for 24 hours after visiting Amazon.com. I'll find out for sure. For books though, you should be able to buy any book through our bookstore if you search for it. In fact, most Amazon products should sill be accessible through the bookstore. As for Kindle books, yes, it should work. There's a link to the Kindle Store on the sidebar below the book category/genre list. The info's hard to find, but it looks like I'll have to reapply for the Amazon UK affiliate program separately. I'll look into this and try to find an definitive answer either way. I'll update you guys once I figure out the Amazon UK situation. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll see what I can do about it. Amazon hasn't updated their software much in the past years and it uses an iframe, so there might not be much I can do about it. You might also encounter a similar problem with the length of the page cutting out reviews. If you make the window wider in the meantime that should work, but I'll see what I can do. If anyone is knowledgeable with frames and knows how to make resizing them responsive, I'd love it if you got in touch. I'll look into the B&N program. If they offer a similar program that allows you to create a whole "store" they might be a better choice. Sure. Any book should be searchable and purchasable, but you can suggest books to be featured on the homepage, sidebar, or on the homepage of any particular category page. Ya, I mean "Conversations" I guess, I'll probably never stop calling them PMs. Yep, you can purchase anything. I left out some categories (but included video games, cameras, etc) but I can easily add all their category pages. The links on the right sidebar take you directly to Amazon.com instead of the on-site bookstore, but the links are still valid, even for the Kindle store.
Two books by @mammamaia have been added to the bookstore. If you'd like your book included, message either me or Wreybies to get added to the list. Suggestions for bettering the bookstore or maybe for book lists? I'd love to hear them.
My only comment at this point is, woohoo! Make this a forum member benefit: your books will be promoted (i.e. there is an Amazon link) if you are a supporting member. It encourages people to be supporting members, and, I think we are inclined to buy fellow forum member's books. I know I have on the other forum I frequent. So far three of my forum friends are published and I've bought their books because I know them from the forum. (And they happen to be decent books as well.)
I bought two forum members' novels that are available on Kindle, before this option began. I haven't read either one, and the people who wrote them don't know I've bought them. But they both look interesting, and when I get around to reading them I'll do a review, if I liked them. It's fun to look forward to seeing more from our forum members.
In response to this thread, someone suggested I add a place to list free ebooks by forum members. I ended up creating a full forum members books/publications category in the resource area. In addition to being featured in the Amazon bookstore, if you've had a book or collection of works published you can submit it to the resource section. The listing has type/genre sub-categories and requires a thread prefix of either Print, eBook, Print & eBook, or Free eBook. You'll be able to sort the listings based on this criteria, allowing you to sort by media type and whether it's a free download or paid. I added a books published by forum members FAQ entry, which explains who's eligible and other details. Generally, you must be an active or established member. This category will also be subject to hirer moderation and quality control to ensure it's not spammed or abused. Also, because it's somewhat related and it seems most people might be unaware, I'd like to also note that there is a member's websites section for active forum members to include their blogs and personal or writing websites.
The OP link takes you to the "books" category. https://www.writingforums.org/bookstore/ It's right above "Kindle" on your screen shot. The link from the menu bar does as well. OK, I figured out the problem, you are already on the "books" category when you are trying to find it in the drop down search menu of categories. If you change screens, say to "Category: Kindle - search for: books" you'll see "Books" above "Kindle" on the list of Kindle books. From the main Bookstore page, leave "category" alone and just enter the book title you are looking for in the search box.
If I don't select a category it says I have to select one. If I go to another category, via the "Browse by category" pane (like "Kindle Store"), I still can't see that book link: Spoiler: Screen shot 2
i'm wondering if all members' free books fit into the 'resources' category... i wouldn't think of going there to find books by members that aren't 'writing how-tos'... is there some other, less 'hidden' way to promote members' books in other genres, that are being offered without charge? my free books are now listed in the 'resources' section, but they are not writing resources, though i suppose they could be considered 'life/living' resources... i'd like to know if you all think it's an appropriate place for them... if you do, i'll be happy keeping them there... https://www.writingforums.org/resources/ thanks in advance, to all who'll weigh in on this... and many thanks to daniel, for giving us this opportunity to disseminate our work... hugs, m
@GingerCoffee @Komposten I believed I fixed this. If this is an issue for anyone, there should be a search widget on the right sidebar. The member publication resource category isn't exclusive to writing-related and writing how-to publications. If I could create a separate section that acts the same way but isn't listed under the writing resource section, I would; right now I can't though. Hopefully in the future. @mammamaia As for a less hidden way, I suppose there isn't, though I'm open to suggestions. I was considering a "Success Stories" forum under the new applied writing category for sharing success stories, new publishing deals, etc. Maybe something like that? Aside from that, I'd recommend adding it to the members publication category (under the proper genre and indicate if its free/paid/print/digital) and simply link to the specific book listing in your profile and signature. This would increase exposure of books/publications for free and will also help people become aware of this section.
